NordenBladet – In an exclusive interview to NordenBladet, the long-time member of the Estonian National Museum team, Kristjan Raba, reveals his thoughts about life in the midst of the museum scene, about the succession of people in the position of the managing director of ERM, and sheds some light on the future plans of the museum.
For almost 20 years now you have been connected with the Estonian National Museum in Tartu. What has been the greatest challenge regarding your work? What delights you the most in the development of the museum?
It was largely by chance that in the 90s, in the time of all opportunities, I came into contact with the museum, not yet knowing that life is offering me an opportunity to be involved in the preparations of „the edifice of the century”. In the task force for the modern and contemporary ERM premises program I had a double function. One was my job as a curator for the permanent exhibition theme hall „Nation and Republic”, and the other was my role as the head of marketing and sales for the exhibitions-events-museum studies, and we sought to realize our dreams back then. It was a big challenge, an enormous responsibility and an exciting time of self-growth with the goal of creating our nation’s memory site, a national museum. The architecture of the museum building has been widely acknowledged in Europe, the content, the technology – an exercise and execution of an innovative museological approach.
Autumnal ERM in Raadi, with the autonomous vehicle aka robot-museum bus without a human driver. Photo: Anu Ansu (ERM 2021)
This work is really perpetual, the process is ongoing. Among the greatest landmarks in Estonia – working towards this has been the greatest challenges in my professional life until now. ERM has moved back to its historic location where the museum as a brand received a new appearance, including renewed visual graphics. Together with several colleagues and experts in the field, this goes without saying, two new important permanent exhibitions were created. First of these, the scope of DYS gallery (participation hall), that as such is rather unique in the world and keeps the building busy with several events-spectacles-concerts. And as I watch the people, the families, walking in and around the museum, it makes me very glad. As dreamy as it may sound, the versatile life in the museum gives way to very interesting forms of collaboration, facilitates networking with creative souls. In a way, the museum keeps me fit, I, too, feel very youthful while the building recently celebrated its 5th birthday on October 1, 2021. The building hosts performances-fairs-exhibitions-teaching programs, and there is active digitizing work done for the sake of the new generations, so that the cultural heritage may be maintained in its entirety, so that it would be profoundly researched and be received by the people as the great gold reserve of Estonia.
Head of ERM exhibition house Kristjan Raba in Raadi, 15.05.2009. (Photo: Arp Karm/ERM)
Keynote opening speech by Head of Exhibition house Kristjan Raba, 20.11.2008. (Photo: Merylin Suve/ERM)
Digitizing ERM carpets collection, Head of exhibition house Kristjan Raba spreading out the carpet, autumn 2009. (Photo: Anu Ansu/ERM)
Kristjan Raba with ERM museum flag, 14.04.2009. Photo: (Arp Karm/ERM)
The previous director of ERM, Mr Alar Karis, is now the President of Estonia, and the Minister of Culture, Mrs Anneli Ott, summoned a nine-member committee to find a new director for the Estonian National Museum (ERM). Who is going to be the new director?
A little more patience is needed now, until the new director starts in December, yet constantly there is new blood flowing in the museum’s circulation. In the process of electing the new director, ERM’s voice might have also been included at the committee table.
Currently it is undisclosed whether someone from among our colleagues set up their candidacy, also I have received several inquiries, my hope shone through and a few good candidates were to be found. It has now been announced that the director-to-be is the experienced leader in the field of culture, Mrs Kerttu Saks.
I suppose I myself have held each and every role in the museum: a gardener-streetsweep, a curator, designer, logistician, not a stranger to the work of an exhibition guide, I have worked with the team of storage-conservation, on marketing-ads-PR, and earlier also in the responsibilities of the vice director.
During the occasion when our director attended the ESTO days in America, I was in the function of the director in Tartu and we organized with the people of the song and dance festival a great celebration in Raadi, where the inspiration camp took place. Raadi is also the birthplace of lighting the festival torch at sunrise.
However, right now I have mostly focussed on conveying my experience and shaping the active cooperation among several European institutions. We wish to take our exhibition „Elas kord…” („Once upon a time…”) on a tour either to Finland, Denmark, France, or why not instead also to Japan, and we will be addressing the Danish Hans Cristian Andersen Museum with a concrete networking project proposal. We will continue the initiative launched by the newly elected president/the previous director, towards this goal.
Good international relations bring also good vibes to ERM, so that great ideas may emerge from them and the blush remains. I just returned from Denmark and just recently presented a paper at the House of European History where I attracted very positive feedback and interest regarding the ERM experience. There has been a good connection with the Scandinavian countries – with the National Museum of Finland, also our very good friends and partners are in Museum Centre Vapriikki, the ERM exhibitions have traveled widely in Finland from Turku to Jyväskylä, from Helsinki to Sami-Siida, since the Sami are also our fellow tribesmen and just now we have the month of tribesmen in Estonia. The new director certainly favors working towards the continuation of this route.
President of Estonia, Alar Karis during the final day in office at the Estonian National Museum. Photograph: ERM
Did you consider running for the position of ERM’s new director?
Not really, although I have a vision regarding the role of the new director, and several great recommendations for the new person, so that it would be possible to readily fit in and be able to avoid discovering the somewhat unnecessary paths to the goal. Currently it is essential, as the head of the central museum, to maintain a positive perception bias in the society and signal that visits to the museum are safe, that the cultural heritage helps support emotional wellbeing, that guests and families that come in small groups can definitely feel safe and that it is going to be a great experience.
Also school teachers with their pupils should visit, since the museum offers a healthy and instructive environment to strengthen the formal education, ERM’s new building and the exhibitions offer a really great opportunity for that, and everything stems from researched materials, scientific work, and modern museological benchmarks, along with inclusive action and participation, as we have introduced it for many years in our participation hall.
What will ERM offer in order to excite the visitor during this season? The exhibitions „Once upon a time…” as well as „Our home witch kitchen” recently became history. What comes after them?
The contest for the year 2022 recently closed. The public vote determined the winning project and it will be lead by high-spirited women – those who do woodwork, self-made carpenters, and women with vim and golden hands in several areas of life.
A more global dimension will be introduced by J. Lotman 100, the implementation fully designed by ERM. We collaborate with Uni Tartu semiotics, and this exhibition, too, will likely travel the world, since the significance of J. Lotman and the impact of his school extend from Moscow to Paris and further. Right after the exhibition „Our home witch kitchen” the same hall will host the exhibition „Inclusive LIFE”, This exhibition will cater information and offer a practical exposition, and will invite the visitor to join in and help find the solutions in the areas of better accessibility and inclusive design, and will urge to reflect whether special needs are really that special. By hosting these projects we will also accumulate knowldege and collect hints on how to animate time and again the permanent exhibition „Encounters” that has a wide spectrum of target groups.
Kristjan Raba accompanying on piano the young violinist Estella Elisheva, during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, in the spacious lobby hall, summer 2021. Photo: (Arp Karm/ERM)
Kristjan Raba at the grand opening event of the exhibition “Our home witch kitchen” in ERM’s participation hall. Photo: NordenBladet
Which direction is the „exhibition trend” bending? What kind of exhibitions win the most visitors and what are people willing to see? What is the proportion of foreign visitors? Who are the artists and what are the types of exhibitions that you most wish to attract to ERM?
The trends are diverse, the challenge here would be smart solutions and networking. A matter of survival would be which communities we will be able to team up with, how to detect the topics that speak to the visitor, that are relevant in the society, and not „excessively sophisticated”. ERM as the central museum will always present a special program in connection with important events in our country, or also we will reveal objects-stories that address the public or that gives us in Estonia reason always to be proud of.
The share of international guests in a global situation like this is obviously slightly smaller, but we won back our Baltic visitors soon enough, we gladly saw Finns among our guests last summer as well as now. We cordially invite also the Swedes and the Norwegians to visit the Estonian National Museum, since for example with the Swedish colleagues we have had fruitful professional contacts (i.e. with Nordiska, ERM’s exhibition has toured in Skansen). We are adding volume to the collaboration that is directed towards Norway in relation to Tartu 2024, since the small town of Bodö will celebrate the same festival as us here.
Our cultural cooperation has brought here a blacksmith-metal artist from Lofoten, Norway, when ERM arranged a joint exhibition of Nordic blacksmiths in cooperation with the Estonian Blacksmith Association. Finland has maintained very strong traditions and skills of blacksmithing. ERM also contributed to the project „Brod in Norden” that was lead by the Danish colleagues and from there emerged the spirit to collaborate with Denmark also now, as Denmark has the similar Museum Centre Moesgaard as is our ERM, and they have always welcomed us warmly. We have quite a lot to learn from them, and they have also been interested in our solutions in museology. It wasn’t for nothing that ERM earned the Kenneth Hudson special award after the new building opened.
Currently ERM is expecting guests from Zürich and they will set up the exhibition „Silva” (observations of nature-sounds-environmental topics). It is going to be an exciting sensual and digital installation that will help address contemporary environmental issues also as a part of our permanent exhibition „Encounters”.
Head of exhibitions Kristjan Raba, opening event of the Finno-Ugric exhibition. Photo: ERM
Are you an active visitor of museums yourself? What has been the brightest memory outside the home museum?
Professional interest has indeed driven me to various museums of the world. The most recent lucid experience was in the House of European History in Brussels, and also the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels in a historic Art Nouveau style building. A splendid impression have always been the V&A monumental exhibitions, be it fashion or technology, and where we have also held negotiations about a touring exhibition. An experience has also been the general British scope, the well-designed spacial encounters, the engagement of collections, the storytelling. And again I recall the sweet little Hans Christian Andersen Hus in Odense, Denmark, that has just recently launched a brand new museum area. Among its creators, the spirit of the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma with his perception of nature is clearly felt, just as in ERM here and there we recognize the vision of the Japanese architect Tsuyoshi Tane, coming alive.
The Estonian National Museum building has a pleasant atmosphere and the light interacts with the surrounding nature. Surely a good memory is from the Norwegian minute museums in Lofoten where the impression reminded me of the experience from the homeland’s Heimtal museum, or also the very nice Vikings exhibition currently open in the National Museum of Denmark, where also their restaurant offers wonderful coffee. A great museum is always a unity of impressions-experiences-understandings.
Main photo: Estonian National Museum’s Head of exhibitions, Kristjan Raba. Photo: ERM 2018
Source: NordenBadet.ee